Charmed Season 9: The Lost Heir
by ishouldberunning
Summary: Just as the sisters adjust to their demon free lives a mysterious witch appears threatening to ruin them. Who is this girl? and more importantly, what is this "gathering darkness" she speaks of? Watch as the Halliwells try sisters save the world again.
1. Chapter 1

**Da da da da! Here it is! The long awaited first chapter of my "9th season". So I could ramble on about how long it took me to write it and than rewrite it and than rewrite it again but I won't waste your time. So long story short: it took me a long time. And then it took me even longer to find enough time to actually get it typed on the computer. You see for the past five months or so my life has been owned by a very time consuming activity called show choir. Its over now.....in fact our last performance is tomorrow which is the same day that I turn in my massive research paper. Coincidence? Actually I think its a conspiracy but I won't go into that right now. Oh look I'm rambling....but before I allow your attention to be diverted from all of this useless information to the story I would like to give you some good news. Spring Break. My spring break is next week and luckily for you my mother and sister decided to run off to Florida and leave me here alone all week. What this means: it is very likely that you will see the second chapter up in the next few days or so. Unfortunately I can't make any promises beyond that because I still have soccer practice for three hours a day but the second chapter has already been written so all I have to do is type it. YEAH! Two more things and than I'm DONE I swear:**

**1). I don't own Charmed or any of its characters**

** and**

**2). ENJOY!  
**

Thirty-nine year old Piper Halliwell woke up to the sound of another beautiful San Fransisco day. Rollin on her back she felt the mattress beside her and found it empty. _'Leo must have left already.'_ With a sigh she righted herself. A lot had changed in the months following the ultimate battle. Leo had returned to his handyman roots and had even started his own company aptly named _Heaven's Little Helpers_. Even though the club's recent popularity had increased the household income the success of Leo's business provided them with a level of financial security they had thought impossible. Meanwhile Phoebe had written an autobiography and was currently touring the country on a book signing campaign. Paige, the youngest of the Halliwell sisters, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first child which had already been named Henry Jr. after his father. It seemed everyone had adjusted to their demon free lives......everyone but Piper that is.

Piper just didn't understand. From day one she had always been the most resistant to their supernatural destiny. She had spent eight years trying to find a way out, a way back to her ordinary ho-hum life. But now that things were back to normal she couldn't help but feel that she was living a lie. She was born to be a witch and lately she found herself longing for the late night demon hunts that used to define her life. _'I must be crazy. After everything we went through....after everyone we lost....how can I miss that?'_ She broke from her thoughts a moment to check the clock on the nightstand _'Crap...I'm late.' _She let out another sigh and massaged her temple with her hands. Then she got out of bed and headed downstairs to make a quick pot of coffee. She stopped momentarily at the window and to gaze upon the stillness that enveloped the surrounding neighborhood. All she wanted was a little excitement. If only she knew.

As Piper turned away from the window a teenage girl rounded the corner of Prescott Street accompanied by a woman. The girl stopped in her tracks when she spotted the Manor.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Yes you can. Listen they're the Charmed Ones, they know what they're doing"

"Yeah, that's what scares me......besides I thought you said they retired."

"No....they're just on a supernatural hiatus. Just remember what I told you and everything will be fine."

"How do you know so much about them anyway?"

"Uh...let's just say I've worked with them before."

"Wow. I don't think you could have made that answer any vaguer."

"Well that's all you're getting. So good luck and try not to mess up. You only get one shot at a good first impression."

"That wasn't helpful. Don't you think I have enough pressure already? Wait, what if I need you?"

"Well if you really need me call for me but only if its an emergency. It would be better if the girls didn't see me."

"Why?" But the young girl didn't get an answer as her guardian disappeared without warning. "Thanks....not." Out of anxiety the girl let out a heavy sigh. "Well here goes nothing."

Piper was downing her second cup of coffee when there was a soft knock on the door. She went and opened it to find a teenage girl standing on the doorstep.

"Hello..."

"Hey..." The teen's response was followed by an awkward silence in which Piper had expected he to explain why she was there but the girl remained silent.

"Um...is there something I can help you with?"

"Are you Piper Halliwell?"

"Yes." Something about the girl the gave her intention away. Whether it was the tone of her voice or just her overall behavior Piper didn't know. What she did know was where the conversation was about to go.

"I'm a witch...and I need your help."

After calling the club and explaining away her absence Piper lead the girl to the attic. She went over to a large chest and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. It was a very old and very big book. _'Its been a long time!' _Piper carried the Book of Shadows over to a couch and motioned for the girl to join her.

"I guess we'll start with the basics. What's your name?"

"Melinda...but you can just call me Mel if you want because that's what my friends.....well that's what people call me but if you don't want to thats fince because I know..."

"What exactly is it you needed help with?" Melinda's expression hardened as she realized that she couldn't avoid her reason for coming any longer. "Are you sisters around?"

"No but its fine. I can handle your run of the mill demon. We only need the Power of Three for upper level demons and I don't think we'll have that problem. Besides I can always fill them in later if we need them." In reality Piper had no intention of getting her sisters involved. Just because she couldn't adjust to her new life didn't mean she had the right to ruin theirs. "Why are you here?"

"See.....that's the complicated part. I don't really know."

"You don't know?" Piper was beginning to think that this was a very bad idea and that she should have slammed the door in Melinda's face the second she had said the word "w" word.

"No, they just sent me." Piper knew exactly who "they" were and knew that their involvement meant things were about to get really interesting.

"They sent you? Just like that? For no reason at all?"

Well I had gone to this seer.....to try and figure out some personal stuff but during the reading she just blurted it out."

"Blurted what out?" Piper didn't like where this was going."

"A sort of prophecy I guess. 'Dark forces gather in the shadows as a lost heir prepares to take their rightful place upon the throne of evil.' When i asked her about what it meant she didn't even remember saying it." Piper shifted in discomfort as chills ran down her spine. _'This doesn't sound good. In fact, it sounds very very bad.'_ Melinda noticed but continued on:

"I went and told my whitelighter what she said. She seemed worried so she went to the Elders. This was followed by a lot of talking and a lot of freaking out. Next thing I know I'm standing on your doorstep." Piper reviewed everything Melinda had just said. She chuckled at the idea that just this morning she had been yearning for exactly this. _'I really am crazy.'_ At the same time Melinda stared at Piper hoping that she wasn't going to have a fit. Back on the other side of the couch Piper had made a decision and Melinda wasn't going to like it.

"Melinda, I'm sorry but from the sound of it I can't help you."

"What!?" Melinda didn't try to hide her panic as she jumper to her feet obviously overwhelmed by this unexpected rejection.

"How can you say no? You're a Charmed One!"

"I'm sorry but that doesn't help me fight a nameless, faceless evil that you know nothing about. Besides I have a family to think about. I can't drag them back into the hell we lived for eight years."

"You selfish..." Melinda's eyes began to water as her frustration broke through to the surface. "What's the point of having a family if there's no world left to live in? How can you put their lives ahead of millions of others?"

"You're young and you have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm older than you think."

"I told you to leave. Now please go." Piper stood up using her slight height advantage to intimidate.

"Fine." Melinda stuttered. She grabbed her bad and stormed out of the attic. At the same time Piper heard the front door open and a voice call out.

"Piper? You here?"

"Leo!" Piper returned the Book of Shadows to its hiding place and went downstairs to greet her husband. She found him in the kitchen making a sandwhich.

"Hey honey. I went to the club to see you and they said you never came in. Is everything alright? And who was that girl?"

"Yeah everything's fine. I was just feeling a little under the weather this morning.......and the girl was just trying to sell me some magazines to raise money for a school trip." Leo paused and looked intently at his wife.

"You know we've been married for seven years so I can tell when you're lying, not that you were ever good at it anyway. Come on Piper, you can tell me."

""Well....we should sit down because this is going to take awhile."

Meanwhile in Golden Gate Park Melinda had just found a clearing that was far away from the path that she deemed it a suitable meeting place.

"Hey get down her now!" Right on cue a woman wearing white robe appeared out of thin air.

"Melinda what is it? What's wrong?"

"We're screwed okay? But its not my fault. Piper completely blew me off. I did everything you said to do and she still said no so don't try and tell me that this is my fault!"

"Melinda just calm down." The woman took her charge in her arms in the hope that it would settle her down. "Now listen to me. We still have plenty of time to fix this."

"But what if we can't? What if I can't?" Why did they choose me? I mean if my life hasn't sucked enough already now the Elders have me on some wild demon chase!"

"Don't worry we'll figure this out. I don't know how but we will. Another thing I know is that you have to go back and talk to her. With her on board things will get a lot easier."

"What makes you think I'll be able to change her mind?"

"Just give her some time. Halliwell's can be a little stubborn...trust me."

"Fine. But can you give me a lift there is no way I'm walking all the way back there."

Back at the Manor Piper had just spent the past hour replaying everything that had happened that morning. When she had finished she sat in silence as Leo organized his thoughts. After a few minutes if silence he spoke:

"Well I think you should help her."

"What?" Piper couldn't help but be surprises by his answer, She thought he would have applauded her for chasing Melinda out of the house and then suggested that they gon on a very long vacation in order to avoid any further contact. "But Leo what about our demon free lives? What about the boys? Think about how this would affect them."

"Piper this isn't about the boys or girl came to you for help and it sounds like you're the only one who can help her. She was sent to you for a reason. Don't you think that helping an innocent is more important than us staying demon free?"

"Yes." To be honest this is how Piper had felt all along but something inside her tried to tell her to stay away. It was still there now but with the help of Leo's support it was being overpowered by her natural desire to do good.

"But now that I've scared her away how am I supposed to find her?" As if to answer he a knock once again came form the front door. Piper opened it to find...

"Melinda! Come in. I think we should talk some more." Melinda was greatly relieved by this warm welcoming and stepped inside.

"Piper I'm going to go and get the boys. That way you two can have some alone time to figure things out." There was a time when Leo would have been in on the supernatural conversations but now that he was a mortal there wasn't really anything he could do to help.

"Okay see you in a bit. Melinda you can take a seat in the living room. I'm going to go and get the book." Melinda nodded and headed into the adjacent room. She felt a little foreign being all alone in a stranger's house. In an attempt to suppress her discomfort she began looking over the family photos. One picture in particular caught her eye. She carefully lifted it up and brushed the thin layer covering it off to reveal three young women standing in front of the manor. She dropped it in astonishment just as Piper reentered the room.

"Piper! I'm sorry I was just looking and...."

"Don't worry it's fine. I'll get a broom." Piper set the book down and headed towards the kitchen.

"Uh, Piper...who's in this picture with you?"

"My sisters, Prue and Phoebe."

"My whitelgihter told me your other sister's name was Paige."

"This was taken long before we knew Paige was our sister. You see..." Melinda noticed a sudden sadness in Piper's eyes and it was unsettling. "...Prue was killed by a demon about seven years ago. The Power of Three was broken. Soon after we found out about our half-sister Paige and the Charmed Ones were reconstituted."

"Oh....I'm sorry.....about your sister that is.....the dead one.....sorry....and the frame......sorry about that too.......where's your bathroom......sorry?" Piper couldn't decide what was more unnerving. The teen's sudden inability to speak English or her sudden need for a restroom.

"There's one upstairs...."

"Thanks! I'll find it." As Piper watched her run up the stairs she attributed her sudden change in behavior to the guilt she had for the broken frame knowing very well that that wasn't the real thing bothering her.

When Melinda reached the bathroom she slammed it shut and leaned against it. Then she called out in a whisper:

"Hey get down her. I need to talk to you!" there was no response. "Don't worry I'm alone....damn it this is an emergency!" She turned around to lock the door and when she turned back around she came face to face with a dark haired woman.

"Holy s.....don't do that!"

"What is it? I really shouldn't be here." Once Melinda had allowed her heart enough time to return to its normal pulse she confronted her guardian.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me they were your sisters? Huh _Prue_?" Prue Halliwell stood in silence as she looked down at the young witch.

"So much for my cover. How did you find out?"

"Picture. Are you actually a whiteligher?"

"No."

"Than what are you exactly? A ghost?"

"I wish but no. I'm a very unique case so I don't really have an official title. Just think of me as a supernatural guardian from beyond the grave her to guide you and answer your questions."

"Answer this...What the HELL is going on? What's with all the secrets?"

"Ssssh! Quiet down or Piper will hear you. Listen Melinda, something big is going to happen. I don't what it is but it has the Elders worried. All I know for certain is that all the signs have been pointing to you."

"Excuse me? Signs? What signs?"

"Melinda?" The pair jumped as Piper's voice echoed up the staircase. They were so deep in their conversation that they had completely forgotten that they weren't alone.

"Listen I'll explain more later. Right now you need to go and so do I." And with that Prue was gone and Melinda was left alone again. Despite her frustration Melinda manged to quiet herself and went downstairs where Piper was waiting.

"Everything okay?"

"Yep. Just taking a tour."

"I thought I heard you talking to..."

"Myself. I was talking to myself. I do that a lot......sorry. Its weird."

"Okay.....anyway Leo is going to be home soon with the boys so I figured we would save the demons until after dinner. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah...sure. Sounds great."

By the time Leo walked in with Wyatt and Chris the table was set and the food was ready. During the meal Piper decided to probe a little into Melinda's life.

"So what about your parents? Are they witches too?"

"Ummm......both of my parents are dead. They died when I was really young. I've been living on my own for awhile now."

"Oh...Melinda I'm so sorry! I..."

"Don't worry. You didn't know and it was a long time ago. I'm over it." It was clear to everyone (minus Wyatt and Chris) that Melinda was lying when she said it didn't bother her so Piper decided no to pry any further. After a short time the awkwardness dissipated allowing normal conversation to be resumed. After dinner Piper led Melinda into the conservatory while Leo went up and put the boys to bed. A few minutes later he rejoined them which was Piper's cue to get down to business.

"Mel, I've thought about it and I've decided that I'm going to help you. We're going to help you in any way we can."

"Are you going to tell your sisters?"

"No, at least not just yet. If I can I'm going to try and avoid getting them involved. It wouldn't be fair to drag them into this especially Paige since she's pregnant." _'She is stubborn.'_ Piper's refusal to involve the other Halliwells made Melinda nervous. How was she supposed to fight the most powerful demon in the underworld with only one third of the Charmed triangle? Leo to share in her concern as he turned to his wife.

"Piper are you sure? I mean you and Melinda can't do this alone."

"Well its a good thing we have supernatural connections aside from our own family."

"And who would that be?"

"An old friend." Piper smirked as she watched the confusion spread across both their faces. "I'll explain later. But first, Melinda you have to promise me something."

"Yeah sure. Anything!"

"No secrets. If we're going to tackle this "gathering darkness" than you're going to have to be honest with me okay?" Melinda looked into Piper's hoping that her own wouldn't betray her. _'Secrets? Like the secret chat I just had with your dead sister? Oh no problem!' _It was at this very moment that Melinda realized she might be in far over her head but she knew that it was too late turn back. So she faked a smile and spoke with as much sincerity as her voice would allow:

"No secrets."

**Yes I know that was very exciting......don't worry if you don't agree because I just used this chapter to lay the foundation for the rest of the story. Things really get going in the next chapter so keep a look out because it will be here soon!In the meantime you can praise me or insult me or just tell me a funny joke. It doesn't matter a whole lot to me but if you have an opinion then by golly feel free to SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD!  
**

**P.S i swear i tried to get rid of all the red squiggles but its really late so if i missed any just remember: I'm only human and i promise i will fix any major boo boos momentarily**

**P.S.S. by momentarily i mean eventually**

**P.S.S.S. I'm pretty sure i made P.S.S. up**

**P.S.S.S.S no i did not take my meds. today  
**

**P.S.S.S.S.S im done  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well here it is the second chapter, just like I promised. But I must warn you that it may be a little while before the third chapter comes because I only have a little bit of that one done whereas the first two chapters were completely done before I typed them on here. But hopefully it should be up relatively soon. I'm going to stop blabbing now because I'm tired because it took me FOREVER to type this chapter and now I'm going to go and take a nap.  
**

**I don't own charme****d or its characters.**

**Reviews: **

**NERDZROCK6: Thank you so much for the review! Its good to know that there are people out there that enjoy my stories. And you'll be happy to know that this chapter is even longer than the previous one!  
**

**atlan2007: Thanks for the review. I think I know who you're referring to when you say "him". You'll find out who the "old friend" is in this chapter and I'm sorry to say that its not "him" But not to worry. If you and I are both thinking of the same "him" than you'll be glad to know that he'll have a pretty major role in the plot in the later chapters.**

**ENJOY!  
**

During the first few nights at the Manor Melinda averaged a whopping three hours of sleep per night. Piper had insisted that she sleep in Paige's old room despite her offer to sleep on an old mattress in the basement. "I don't want to mess up any of her stuff" was the best argument she could come up with. Of course the basement would've been ideal for communicating with Prue without risking exposure. _Prue._ That was one thought that made it impossible to sleep. The guilt that resulted from the lies she had fed Piper and Leo just a few days ago had her seated on the edge of her bed staring at nothing in particular all night long. Morning came soon enough and Melinda was awakened from her thoughts by a soft knock at the door.

"Hey, you awake?"

"Yeah, come in" Piper entered with Chris in hand.

"Sleep alright?"

"Great...like a baby."

"So I figured we could have some breakfast and then get to work once the boys are out of the house."

"Okay." Melinda's nerves flared up at this proposal as she followed Piper down to the kitchen.

Meanwhile in one of the darkest caverns of the underworld a cloaked figure ran his fingers across the inscriptions on the wall in front of him. A moment later another figured dressed in all black flamed in.

"Master, Osric has returned."

"Summon him." Almost instantaneously another figure appeared.

"My liege I bring news."

"Then speak it." the demons words voice was full of irritation as he turned to face others.

"I found her."

"And?"

"She's found the Charmed Ones. She's staying with the eldest sister at the Manor." Silence followed as the hooded figure turned to inspect the wall once again. After a moment he spoke.

"If I recall correctly your task was to intercept her and bring her to me."

"Please sire, have mercy I...." Osric cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, his body enveloped in flames. With one final agonizing shout he burst into ash.

"Vesalius"

"Yes my liege" the other demon stepped forward avoiding the pile of dust that was formerly his twin brother.

"Do not repeat his mistake." After giving a short nod Vesalius flamed out.

Once the table had been cleared and Leo had left with the boys, Piper and Melinda headed up to the attic. The Book of Shadows had returened to its rightful place in the middle of the room. Piper ran her fingers over the triquetra the cover as she spoke.

"Before we get started you should probably give your whitelighter a call."

"What?" Melinda's voice cracked in panic as her heart began to race.

"Um call her. Give her a ring. A lil' jingle jangle?"

"Oh yeah I know but why?"

"Well I bet she knows a lot more than she's actually told you and we'll need that information so we know who...or what we're looking for."

"Uh..." Melinda knew she had to think fast or Piper would get suspicious. "She won't hear me. The Elders assigned her a new charge in uh.....Norway."

"Really?"

"Yeah I talked to her last night."

"Ugh! Leave it to the Elders to make this more difficult than it already is! Figures. One day I'm going to...!" But Melinda never found out what Piper was planning to do as the tirade was interrupted by the rings of a nearby telephone. Piper went over and picked the cordless of the armchair where it had been resting.

"Hello?....Oh hey Phoebs!" Piper gave Melinda a silent gesture signaling her to start flipping through the book as she left the attic closing the door behind her. Melinda flipped the front cover open and starting rifling through its many pages. There was a truth spell, an awakening spell and a spell to vanquish a demon named Shax. There wasn't anything too exciting until she got to a page titled "_Belthazor_". There were numerous additions to the original entry but what really caught her eye was the picture of a man with one of the sisters whom she assumed must have been Phoebe. She stared at it long and hard, her shock not allowing her to move on. _'First Prue now this? These coincidences are getting a little too.....coincidental.' _Although she hadn't enough time to recover from the initial jolt of this new revelation her a voice brought her back to reality.

"Don't struggle." Melinda instinctively raised her hands in self defense but was thrown back into a shelf holding various glass containers as soon as she flinched. The sound of her crashing to the floor made quite a ruckus which had alerted Piper to the situation.

"Phoebe I got to go!" She threw the phone aside and launched into the attic. A bald demon dressed was brandishing a fireball over a dazed Melinda who was slumped over on the floor. The demon turned and before she could get even one blast off he had disappeared. In the corner Melinda slowly got to her feet and Piper rushed over to help her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I think so. What was that?"

"I think that was our demon." Melinda began flipping through the book again while Piper went to retrieve her an ice pack. By the time she returned Melinda had located a potential suspect.

"Vesalius."

"Let me see." Piper scanned the page quickly as she handed the ice pack to the aching girl. "Yep that's definitely our guy." Melinda sat down on the couch as Piper continued.

"A long time servant of the source this high level demon is known for his indulgent slaughtering of female witches. Once dead he studies the witch's body in an effort to increase his understanding of their anatomical structure. So he's like a supernatural M.E."

"That's.....creepy."

"I've seen worse." Piper joined Melinda on the couch and helped her ice her neck. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got thrown into a shelf. Sorry about the mess."

"Don't be. I'll make Leo clean it up later."

"I feel really lame. I mean he came out of nowhere! I didn't have time to react."

"Don't worry it happens to the best of us......especially around here so get used to it. But I think this would be a good time to discuss your powers."

"My powers?"

"Like my power to blow stuff up? Are you packing anything like that or are you the old school potion making type?" Melinda thought about her answer carefully. _'Great more lies...but I can't tell her.....not yet.'_ So for the second time Melinda lied.

"Well I'm sort of an up and coming witch so if I do have an powers they probably haven't developed yet."

"Oh." Piper seemed slightly discouraged by this so Melinda tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry I'm not completely useless. I can make a pretty bad ass vanquishing potion."

"That's good enough for me. Let's see if the book has any advice on how to get rid of our demon."

After the book failed to turn up any answers Piper decided it was time to call for help.

"Who exactly did you have in mind?"

"Her name is Billie. She's helped us in the past. You could she was our pupil, at least for awhile."

"What makes you think she'll want to help now?"

"She owes us." Billie's betrayal had been one of the most heartbreaking experiences of the Halliwell's wiccan career. They had passed on their knowledge to Billie like she was their own and in turn she used that knowledge to try and kill them. But those wounds had been mended over time and nowadays it was common for Billie to spend a few nights a week watching over Wyatt and Chris while their parents were out on the town. Melinda sat down at the kitchen table as Piper dialed Billie's cell phone number.

"She might be in class is so I'll......oh hey Billie. It's Piper. Listen we have a problem.......our kind of problem and I was wondering if you could help us out. Uh huh. Sounds great see you then."

"She must really owe you."

"Yeah well she's done with classes for the day so she'll be right over in the meantime we should start on that potion. Look under the cupboard there. There should be some brown bags full of ingredients." As soon as Piper finished speaking the doorbell rang.

"Wow! She must really really owe you!"

"Its not her." Piper gave a chuckle as she went to answer the door but her grin vanished when she came face to face with...

"Paige?!"

"Sorry I'm late. Henry's car broke down so I had to take him to work. Do you think everything will fit in my car?" Paige Matthews spoke quickly as she gave her older sister a hug. Piper was rather taken aback and stuttered as she responded.

"Ye..stuf.....everything?"

"Wyatt's old crib. You told me I could pick it up today?"

"Oh yeah sure." The truth was Piper had completely forgotten about their arrangements. The events of the past days had kept her so engaged that the outside world had almost ceased to exist. Piper was in a pickle and to make it worse Melinda entered right on cue holding several brown bags.

"Hey what exactly is....." she paused when she spotted Paige. Pipe needed to think fast.

"Hey would you do me a favor? There's an old crib upstairs in my room. Could you go grab it and load it into Paige's car." Melinda's eyes widened at the sound of Paige's name. Her eyes shot to Paige than back to Piper and to Paige once again. "Please?" Something about the tone of Piper's voice exposed the severity of the situation that hit Melinda like a brick wall. Melinda gave a short nod and then ran off taking the stairs two at a time. Piper knew she was naive to think Paige wouldn't ask any questions but she couldn't help but fell disappointed when she turned to find a confuse Paige starring her down.

"What?"

"Don't what me lady...who's the girl?"

"Uh...she's a neighbor. Her parents are out town so she's staying her for a few days." Piper tried to look calm as Paige studied her. Even if she managed to keep the panic from her face she was certain the loud drums beating in her chest would give her away. After what seemed an eternity Paige spoke.

"I don't believe you. I think you're hiding something." As if to confirm her accusation Billie burst through the door.

"Hey Piper I brought some extra ingredients in case you were out. Oh Paige! Wow you're so big! How is the little guy?" Paige ignored Billie's question and instead turned to Piper.

"Now I know you're up to something. Why is Billie here?"

"Um....I thought she could keep Melinda company while I went to the club." Piper shot a look at Billie hoping she would play along but Billie didn't noticed.

"Who's Melinda?" Piper would've let out a cry of frustration had it not been for the monstrous crash that came from the stairs. _'Oh just kill me now'_ All three women turned to see the sound's origin.

"Sorry." Melinda gave a small smile as she went to recover the frame she had let tumble down the stairs. She picked it up and carried it outside awkwardly shuffling between Piper and the others.

"Who's the girl?"

"Hey Billie could you just wait for me upstairs?" Billie shrugged off the irritation In Piper's voice and made her way to the attic. Unfortunately for Piper, dealing with Paige wasn't going to be that easy.

"Piper what is going on?"

"Nothing."

"Piper!"

"Okay Okay. Melinda, she's not a neighbor girl she's a...." Piper figured it would be easy enough to say a five letter word _'Witch. Witch witch witch witch witch.' _But she chickened out at the last second ".....runaway."

"What!?" Paige shouted. She composed herself immediately and continued in a whisper. "Piper you've got to be joking!"

_'No you've got to be joking.'_ Pipe was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that Paige had believed such a ridiculous lie so easily.

"You can't go around harboring fugitive children! It's illegal!"

"Oh Paige its not like I kidnapped her. Besides I wasn't going to leave her out on the street." Piper waited for Paige's reaction still in shock that she had bought her excuse. Paige shook her head in disbelief.

"You're crazy. You are out of your mind. You're.....have you talked to Phoebe about this?"

"NO!" Just as Piper had regained control she lost it again. "And you aren't going to tell her either! Please Paige! This is my business and I'll deal with it. So just stay away." It was evident that her words had hut Paige but Piper knew it was for the best.

"Fine. I'm going. I'll....I'll call." Tears brimmed Paige's eyes as she rushed out of the door. This harsh and abrupt farewell cut Piper to the core. She hated seeing her little sister so upset but she knew that the only way to guarantee her safety was to keep her away from the Manor. A moment later Melinda reentered obviously shaken by the day's events.

"That was really close." Piper just gave her a stern look and then headed for the attic. Melinda followed obediently in silence. The silence continued during the trip to the attic where they found a very impatient Billie flipping through the Book of Shadows. She looked up when they entered.

"Did Paige leave? And who's the girl? What happened up here? What is..."

"Once your done playing twenty questions I'll fill you in."

"Okay Okay. I'm listening." So Piper talked and talked and talked. She started from when Melinda showed up and continued all the way to when Billie herself had arrived at the Manor. Once she finished Billie summarized it in a way only Billie could.

"So what you're saying is that we have to go up against a bald demon who's really just the henchman of this faceless evil that wants to restore the source's line and destroy the world and the three of us our going to stop it."

"Ha...." Piper and Billie turned towards where Melinda had been sitting quietly in a chair in the far corner of the room.

"Well it does sound kind of ridiculous." Billie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever I'm in. But one more question, why didn't Paige stay. We might need her help."

"Paige doesn't know and I don't want to get her involved with her being pregnant and all."

"What about Phoebe?"

"She's in New York."

"Yeah but there's this crazy new invention called the telephone and..."

"Billie." Billie knew at once she had gone to far with her sarcasm. After a few minutes of awkward silence in which the only sound was Melinda's tapping feet, Piper continued.

"Listen for eight years we fought to get out of that hell. And now that they have normal lives I have no right to drag them back in. They deserve their chance at normal lives. It's one thing when the demons are popping up in your attic and throwing people into shelves..." Melinda flinched. "....but this is my destiny, not there's." Billie didn't respond this time. She merely looked at Piper whom she could tell was troubled deep inside. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but she knew that deep down something other than demons was bothering Piper but she decided it would be in her best interest to remain silent.

"So what do we do now?" Piper's attitude perked up once the focus had reverted back to the demon.

"Well as far as I can tell Vesalius isn't a Power of Three demon..." _'Thank God for that!' _"...but there's no known vanquish so we'll have to improvise.

"Just like old times."

"Exactly like old times. Most of the potion stuff is down in the basement so I'll go grab that. Why don't you two start with what we've got here." Once Piper had finished Billie quickly began tossing ingredients into the a small copper bowl.

"That's too much."

"What?' Billie turned in surprise to find Melinda hovering over her shoulder.

"That's way too much toadflax."

"I know what I'm doing."

"No you don't."

"And who made you the potions master professor?"

"No one. I just know I could do better."

"Be my guest." Billie stepped away rather irritated. _'How old is she like twelve? I hope it blows her right up the...' _Billie's jaw dropped in amazement as Melinda worked. She added three ingredients in the perfect proportions in one fluid motion. And after one little stir it gave a small puff of smoke.

"There. And by the way I'm seventeen."

"Wow that.....how did you know what I was thinking?"

"I read your mind."

"Really?"

"No. You were thinking out loud." Melinda smirked as she stepped away to let Billie take over. Billie was even more irritated than before and she could tell that Melinda and her were going to get along. She went to give the potion another stir when the table it was sitting on was blasted apart knocking her to the ground.

"What the hell?"

"It's Vesalius." The answer came from Melinda who had taken shelter behind a trunk to Billie's right. Once the room had stopped spinning Billie got back on her feet.

"Give me the girl and your death will be painless."

"Well that offers very tempting but I'll have to pass." Usually this is where Billie would've gone telekinesis on his ass but no sooner than she had spoken she found herself flat on her back seeing stars.

"ugh..damn"

"Get off of me" Billie rolled over just in time to see Vesalius flame out with Melinda.

"Shit." The sound of panicked feet echoed up the stairway and moments later Piper rushed in.

"Whats...?" She drew out the last syllable as she took in the scene before her "...Shit."

"Billie what happened?"

"Well Vesalius showed up, kicked my ass and..."

"And?" Piper knew what was coming but she believed verbal conformation was still necessary.

"...took Melinda."

"Shit."

"I'm sorry! I really..."

"Billie its fine. We just need to stay calm. Because if we panic then we won't be able to thin and thinking is very good thing and in order to..."

"Babbling."

"I know! That's how I deal with things!" Piper drew in a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Although this was familiar territory it had been a long time since their last hostage situation and that had left her soft.

Billie watched carefully as Piper thought. She had only ever known Piper as the oldest sister. By the time Billie came into the Halliwell's lives Piper had already been hardened by her supernatural career. It would've been different if it had been Phoebe or Paige had been taken but it was just some random girl that had just appeared out of nowhere one day. _'Why does she care so much?' _Billie bit her lip as she pondered her question. She was brought out of her thoughts when Piper spoke.

"Okay. I'm going to go get the map and crystal and try to scry with some of Mel's stuff. You finish.... er start the potion again. When we find them you can astral project us there abd we'll kick some demon ass." Piper didn't give Billie a chance to respond before she walked out. Billie was rather impressed by how quickly Piper had regained her self-control. In the old days when Piper went off she would go on for hours maybe even days. Billie decided to finish the potion now and marvel later before Piper kicked _her _ass.

Halfway across town Melinda fell to the floor as her captor released his grip on her.

"I have to admit I was expecting someone a little less..." Vesalius looked down at the small girl in front of him "....pathetic."

Melinda had a few choice words, one starting with the letter "f", ending in "k", with "uc" in the middle, that she decided to keep to herself. So Vesalius continued without interruption.

"However there had been a lot of talk about you. I'm sure you're a very unique specimen." Melinda thought back to book entry. _'So he's like a supernatural M.E.'_ It was obvious that Vesalius' self-control was waning and this had Melinda worried.

"But I'm sure my master wouldn't mind if I took a little peek." Vesalius drew back his sleeves to reveal a razor sharp dagger. Now Melinda was really worried so she sorted out her options. _'Well I could let him cut me open and play with my innards or I could blast him apart.'_ Although the second choice would've been the obvious one to anyone else it would require Melinda to do something she really didn't want to do. When Vesalius advance another step she decided.

A small spark shot across the fingers of her right hand. _'Damn.'_ It had been a long time since had Melinda had tapped into her power. Slowly but surely a small ball of energy formed in her hand. Vesalius paused, intrigued by this latest development. Melinda was forcing the energy into her hand but it felt like a blockage was dampening even her best efforts. She squinted her eyes in concentration and suddenly the energy was flowing freely. It felt like a bolt of lighting shot out of her core, down her arm and into her hand. _'That's it.' _

Vesalius didn't stand a chance. With a sudden almost graceful motion Melinda drove the ball into his chest. Vesalius doubled over in pain and Melinda stood over him as he quivered on the floor. He looked up at her and smiled.

"It seems we have underestimated you." Then with one final cry he exploded leaving no trace of his existence behind. Melinda took in a deep breath as she drew the energy back into the core of her body and released it when she was sure that the energy was securely locked away. She looked again to the place where Vesalius had spoken his last.

"Serves you right you crazy son of a....." The rest of her words got caught in her throat as she froze in horror. Piper and Billie, equally motionless stood just a few yards away paralyzed by what they had just seen. Melinda's heart sank, She knew this time would come she just wished it would've waited a little longer.

"We need to talk."

By the time the three of them had settled themselves in the family room of the Manor a soft rain had begun to fall. The sound of the drops against the house set a very eerie background as Melinda spoke.

"There's something I haven't told you." Melinda stared as the floor as she spoke. At the time she was unable to msuter enough courage to look into the eyes that she knew were locked on her.

"When....when I told you I was a witch..."

"You lied." Melinda could hear the venom in Billie's words as she spoke. Piper remained silent.

"No I just kept something else a secret. You see my dad..." She raised her head but quickly dropped it again when she saw the look on Piper's face. "...he....there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it. I'm only half-witch. I'm half-witch........half-demon." Melinda braced herself for the tirade but the room remained silent. No on said anything for a span of five minutes. Melinda was the one who eventually broke it.

"I'm sorry I..."

"Get out." Melinda looked up when Piper spoke.

"What?"

"I want you to leave." Melinda's eyes began to fill with tears.

"Piper please...."

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Melinda jumped at Piper's sudden raise in volume, but she didn't move. She just sat there in disbelief. Piper stood up.

"I swear if you don't get out of her right now I'm going to send your sorry ass back where it belongs." Melinda attempted to speak again but was cut off by Billie.

"Go to hell." Melinda gave Piper one more pleading look but realized that it was useless and rushed towards the front door. As she reached for the handle it opened. It was Leo. He was holding a sleeping Chris in one arm and Wyatt was clinging to the other. Even in the dimly lit entrance the pain in Melinda's face was obvious.

"Hey what's wrong?" A single sob burst out from Melinda as she rushed by Leo into the San Francisco night. Leo closed the door after her and wandered into the living room where he found Piper and Billie still reeling from this latest blow.

"Honey what happened?"

Piper, unable to find her voice just shook her head.

**Wow.....that was really long! I hope you liked it and just keep a lookout for the next chpater. I'll work as fast as possible while still retaining the quality at a high level. Review if you want!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow. I am on FIYA! I never update this fast. But somehow I managed to write another chapter! But I must warn you that it won't happen again because I started soccer today and it was brutal. It was cold and rainy (gotta love the Midwest!) and we ran 2.5 miles as a warm up and then we actually started playing soccer. So somehow I don't think I'll be up to writing like I have been. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get at least one more chapter up before the end of spring break hopefully more but I'm not making any promises. I was kind of pumped up about this chapter because I think it addresses one of the major flaws in the Charmed series (which I do not own!)  
**

**REVIEWS:**

**atlan2007: Thanks for the review. Billie isn't my favorite either but with Phoebe and Paige out of the picture for now I figured she was the next in line.**

**NERDZROCK: Thanks for the review!**

**Marie Nomad: I think that Piper should've listened to Melinda too but where's the fun in that?**

**.:You'll be glad to know that there's more Prue coming. A lot more!**

**(ha you should be proud of me! I'm actually responding to the reviews while I'm still writing instead of waiting until later! Punto!)  
**

**HAPPY READING!**

The lights flickered on to reveal a beautifully furnished condo located in downtown San Fransisco. A sigh escaped from the mouth of Phoebe Halliwell. She dropped her bags with a loud thud and then collapsed in the nearest chair. The last few months had been thoroughly exhausting. She had been traveling the country to promote her new autobiography which had been number one on the best sellers list for seven weeks now. If she had known that being successful would require so much work she would've stuck to living off her sisters. She couldn't remember a time when she had felt so spent. Well, actually she could but she didn't like to think about them. She was about to doze off when a knock came from the door of her condo.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. Coop I swear if that's you I'm gonna kick you in the...." It wasn't Coop.

"Someone's a little testy this evening. Good thing I brought some bubbly! For you not me." Phoebe couldn't help but smile at the antics of her younger sister.

"Hey honey." Phoebe gave Paige a hug "Take a seat I'm going to pour myself a glass of this!" After she had satisfied her "thirst" she seated herself on the couch next to Paige.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you.....but wouldn't a phone call have been sufficient?"

"Yes but that's so impersonal. After all we've been limited to the phone for months but if you need to sleep I can leave."

"No its fine. I'm glad to see you. Both of you." Phoebe took a moment to gently rub Paige's enlarged belly.

"Funny. What was all the shouting about Coop for? I thought you two weren't getting along?"

"We aren't but he won't leave me alone. He followed me the entire trip!"

"Stalker much?"

"Yes. I thought I made it clear when I told him I wanted nothing to do with that world anymore. I just want a normal life."

"I got some bad news for you."

"What?"

"Have you talked to Piper lately?"

"I talked to her Wednesday.....why?"

"Oh its nothing....." Phoebe easily detected the worry in Paige's voice and it had her concerned. "Paige what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Its probably nothing."

"Paige!" Paige looked at her older sister and saw that she was obviously distressed and decided that it would be best to stop dragging it out.

"Well I was over there the other day and there was this girl there. Piper said she was a runaway.....she was letting her stay with them."

"What?! Is she crazy?"

"That's exactly what I said but she didn't take kindly to that and practically threw me out the door." Phoebe rubbed her eyes trying to fight off her drowsiness. A family crisis was the last thing she needed right now.

Paige watched her sister suffer in silence and then decided to drop the other bombshell.

"Phoebe it gets worse......Billie was there." Phoebe's head shot up.

"What?"

"Billie Jenkins was at the Manor." Phoebe thought for a moment.

"Paige you don't think....."

"Maybe."

"But its Piper I mean....oh my God!"

On the other side of town Piper Halliwell was enduring another sleepless night. She was slouched against a wall in the attic holding a cup of tea that she had no intention of drinking. She felt miserable. Stupid and miserable. She should have known that wandering back into the the supernatural world would only bring her grief. She hadn't talked with her sisters in days, she hadn't been spending time with her boys, and her love life had been.....a little off lately. If only she had trusted her gut instinct and slammed the door in.....her face. She couldn't even say her name without sinking into a deeper depression. With a soft "huff" she lifted herself from the floor and headed off to bed knowing very well that even if she managed ti fall asleep her nightmarish reality would haunt her dreams.

Somewhere in between Phoebe's condo and the Manor, a young girl sat in the very church where Sister Agnes had received baby Paige so many years ago. Prue Halliwell paused in the entrance. She spotted Melinda hunched over in the second pew with her forehead resting on the pew in front of her. Prue approached silently and took a seat in the third row directly behind her charge. Prue waited for her to acknowledge her presence. Only when it was obvious that Melinda wasn't going to say anything did Prue speak.

"Melinda." The teen sat up and Prue rested a hand on her shoulder. An involuntarily shudder alerted Prue to the fact that Melinda was still overwhelmingly distraught over what had happened.

"Do you believe in a higher power?"

"Uh....well...I" Prue hesitated not knowing what to make of Melinda's sudden interest in theology.

"I thought I did but now I'm not so sure. I mean if there really is something out there.....than why would something like me exist?"

"Melinda don't..."

"Prue I'm a monster. I try to be good but.....when I tapped into my power back in the warehouse it felt so good. But I almost lost control. I could feel the demon trying to take over. Prue I don't know if I'll be able to fight it next time."

"Now you listen to me. You're good. No." Prue cut off a protest from Melinda than continued. "I've seen you do amazing things and I know I'm going to see a lot more. Everything happens for a reason. The Elders chose you for reason and your going to live up to their expectations. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

"That is so touching." Prue and Melinda jumped at the sound of the unknown voice. Then they turned to locate the owner. About ten feet a dark hooded figure stood in the center aisle. It took a few steps as it spoke again.

"You know she's right Melinda. You are a very special little girl but you've been causing me quite a bit of trouble lately."

"Stay away from her!" Prue stood in front of Melinda in an effort to shield her from any potential attack. If she wasn't already dead she knew her heart would've been racing. There was something in the air that told her this conversation was going in a bad direction.

"Now, now. There's no need to fight. We are in a church after all. There is a simple and peaceful solution to all of this."

"And what is that exactly?" In a slight retreat Prue and Melinda backed up until they were at the base of the stairs that led to the main altar.

"Give me the girl."

"Not a chance. Melinda get ready to run." Prue shot the teen a reassuring look and got a small nod in return.

"Why must witches always insist on doing things the hard way?"

"Melinda run!" Prue released her grip on the trembling girl and used her hands to shoot a bolt of energy at the mysterious figure who easily deflected her attack.

"Damn." As thankful as she was that the Elders had granted her any powers she still would've preferred her old power of telekinesis. She wasn't used to this new power and was afraid that her inexperience would end in disaster for both her and Melinda. Complaints aside Prue focused her thoughts on the fight and attacked her enemy once again.

Melinda, who had been watching silently decided that this would be the ideal time to run. But before she even took two steps three demons flamed in blocking her path.

"Prue." Prue didn't answer as she was too preoccupied with her own battle and Melinda once again found herself at a crossroad. She could either lay down and let them take her or she could tap into her demonic powers and fight back. Either way the outlook was grim but she had never been much of a pacifist so she shot of two energy balls. One was right on target and sent the unlucky recipient flying into the wall behind him but the other one missed. The more fortunate demon grinned and initiated his own strike. Melinda was slow on her feet and as a result she took the blunt impact of it right in the chest.

"Melinda!" She heard Prue call her name as she flew slow motion through the air. She slammed into a table of prayer candles and cried out in pain as something pierced her side. As she fell forcefully to the ground a small "snap" issued forth from her body as her wrist broke against the ground. Her vision blurred as her injuries set pain signals to her brain. The third demon who had yet to get in on the action decided to take advantaged of the girl's wakened state and shot another energy ball her direction. As it approached Melinda felt the panic rise up in her chest. _'I have to move. I need to move!'_ She closed her eyes as a strange sensation spread across her body.

Prue turned just time to see her charge shimmer out. Now that Melinda was free from any immediate danger she could seek safety as well. She gave the demons one last look before she too disappeared.

"Noooooo! You cretins! I told you she was not to be harmed! She's not any use to us if she's dead! How could you let her escape?!"

"Master we...."

"Silence! Go after her." The two demons obeyed and flamed out leaving their master alone.

"Demon! In the name of Jesus the Lord I command thee to leave HIS house!" The demon in question turned to see a little old lady bearing a crucifix and a Bible. He smirked. He could've easily killed the woman and on any other night he would've without a second thought. But luckily for Sister Agnes he had bigger things to worry about.

"Leave this house!"

"Yes ma'am" after giving a slight bow the demon flamed out.

Piper was jolted out of her sleep by a large crash from the first floor.

"What was that?" Leo's soft whisper came from the darkness beside her.

"I don't know. Go get the boys." Piper answered in a hushed whisper as she scrambled from the bed.

"Piper where are you going?"

"Where do you thin I'm going? I'm going to see what the noise was."

"Not alone you're not." Leo stood quietly in protest but Piper wasn't having any of it.

"Hey remember when you were married to a witch that could blow stuff up with a flick of her hands?" Point made Piper slowly crept out into the hallway and towards the stairs. When she reached the top she peered down to the hallway below. The moonlight revealed that the table in the entry way had been toppled over. Next to the table heavy breathing issued from a small figure was hunched over against the ruined furniture. In an attempt to surprise the intruder she moved swiftly down he stairs and turned on the lights.

"Melinda?" the teen jumped at the sound of Piper's voice and turned to face her. Piper's stomach lurched at the sight. It was obvious that Melinda had taken quite a beating. She was holding her side which was dripping in blood and her shirt looked like it had been singed by a fire. The most grotesque injury was her left wrist that was bent at an odd angle with a bit of bone poking through the skin.

"Oh God Piper. I'm sorry I shouldn't be here. I didn't mean too. I've never done it before." Piper stared silently in confusion as the girl struggled slowly to her feet.

"I'll leave right now." Melinda attempted to walk to the front door but fell almost immediately. She was panicking and rightly so. If she didn't get help fast she was going to bleed to death on Piper's floor. _'I think this counts as an emergency.'_

"Prue! Prue!" Melinda shouted as tears swelled in her eyes. Now Piper was even more confused. She couldn't understand why Melinda was calling out the name of her dead sister. unless it was her whitelighter's name but that would've been too big of a coincidence. Right?

"Melinda who are you...?" Before Piper could finish her question it was answered. In a flash of light a woman appeared. A woman that Piper hadn't seen in over six years.

"Melinda!" Piper's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her older sister's voice as Prue bent down to tend to her charge. Realizing the severity of Melinda's wounds Prue called for help.

"Andy!" Almost immediately another person from Piper's past appeared out of nowhere.

"Prue I've been looking all over for you."

"Andy hurry! Melinda's hurt!" Andy Trudeau spotted the girl and immediately set to work.

"Prue what happened?"

"We were ambushed in the church."

"In the church? Bastards."

"They tried to take her but luckily she figured out how to shimmer just in time."

"She shimmered?"

"Yeah." The two went back and forth oblivious to the stunned Piper standing just a few feet away. Once Andy had worked his magic on Melinda, Prue helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine but I don't think she is." Melinda gestured towards Piper and Prue met her gaze for the first time. Neither of them said anything they simply stared at each other. Melinda bit her lip as she slowly backed out of the room and Andy followed suit. The sisters stayed silent as Prue drew closer to her younger sister. Prue wiped a single tear from Piper's cheek who shuddered at the touch. Unable to contain herself any longer Piper embraced her long lost sister and buried her face in her shoulder as she cried.

"I've missed you so much."

"I know. I've missed you too." Prue squeezed her sister closer as she began to shed her own tears.

"Prue?" the pair turned to see a dumbstruck Leo brandishing a baseball bat.

"Nice to see you too Leo." Prue smiled as she stepped forward to hug her brother-in-law.

"But uh...I don't understand how are you here? Why are you here?"

"That's going to take some explaining. Let's go get Melinda and Andy."

"Andy's here too?"

"Oh Leo don't ask so surprised." Prue smirked as she headed to the family room.

"I thought he was stationed on the east coast?"

"You knew he was a whitelighter?" Piper turned to her husband as they walked.

"Well yeah. I was still a whitelighter when he died."

"How come I never knew about this?"

"You know now." Andy smiled as the three joined him and Melinda in the living room. Prue and Andy sat on the couch with Melinda in the middle. Piper and Leo sat across form them. Melinda stared at the floor as Prue spoke.

"I bet you would like to know exactly whats going on. Unfortunately I'm not one-hundred percent sure either but I'll do my best. Now where should I start?"

***FLASHBACK***

"Look, I know that this all sounds incredible, but it doesn't make it any less true. Alright, you're a healer, you do good, now either you have saved too many lives or you're about to save a life that they don't want you to save." Prue rubbed her temple hoping that she had finally gotten through to the stubborn doctor.

**"**They?"

**"**Yeah, demons. Uh, more specifically, Shax. He was The Source's assassin."

**"**Hold it, I get it. This is a practical joke, right? Do you have a hidden camera here? My second wife put you up to this? Ah, it's just like her."

"O-o-okay, Dr. Griffiths, listen to me, this is anything but..." Prue paused as bone chilling shudder ran down her spine.

"What?" Piper shot her sister a look of concern as she noticed her sudden discomfort.

"I don't know, I just felt a chill. Phoebe?" Prue was met with silence so she cried out again. "Phoebe, are you there?" This time she got an answer in the form of a tornado of wind that burst through the front door. "Phoebe, where are you?" The tornado knocked the two Halliwells to the floor and then dissipated to reveal Shax.

**"**Dear god" the demon turned to his focus on the doctor.

**"**No!" Prue jumped to her feet and shoved Dr. Griffiths out of the way just in time. Shax's energy ball hit Prue crashing her straight through a wall. Piper struggled to her feet but met the same fate as she joined her sister on the floor of the conservatory after being hit by a blast from Shax. With the witches out the way Shax turned back to his target.

"What are you?"

**"**The end." With a single motion Shax sent the doctor through a window killing him instantly. The demon took one last look at the destruction he cause and then whirlwind out leaving his victims to die.

***END FLASHBACK***

Leo felt Piper shudder as Prue continued.

"After my death I was immediately assigned to be Melinda's new guardian."

"What happened to the other one?" Piper assumed that she had posed a fairly innocent question but could tell almost immediately that she was wrong.

"Well..." Prue hesitated so Melinda finished for her.

"He tried to kill me."

"Oh."

"Yeah the Elders didn't fun a very good background check on him. Anyway, for the first few years everything was normal. I had to deal with the consequences of a few spells gone awry but nothing big. That is until a little over a year ago when Melinda got the prophecy from the seer. Prophecies happen all the time but numerous seers from around the world reported having the same exact prophecy. Word for word. After a little investigating we discovered a movement in the underworld that was trying to restore the source's bloodline. The demons found out that the former source has a living heir. If they can find him and reestablish his power than we're going to be in big trouble. That's when the Elders decided to send Melinda to you."

"Why did they send her? No offense."

"That's an excellent question." Melinda took no insult from Piper's question. She was the last person she would call upon to save the world. Prue continued.

"The Elders have lived up to their reputation because they haven't told us anything. All I know is that we have to find this "heir" and kill him so the bloodline won't continue."

"And how are we going to find this heir?" They continued to talk until well past midnight pitching ideas back and forth. After hours with nothing but dead ends it was anonymously decided that they should get to bed. As the others headed upstairs Prue went outside with Andy.

"Well that went pretty well."

"Yeah. Piper only freaked out a little bit." Andy took Prue's face in his hand and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"You should talk to her."

"What do you mean? We've been talking for hours."

"You know what I mean." Prue knew exactly what he meant. Piper had stared at Prue all night and Prue knew the reason behind her odd behavior. Prue had been absent for six years and Piper wanted to know why.

"Night." Prue returned Andy's affection with a kiss and watched as he orbed away. Then she went to find Piper. After a few minutes of searching she found her gazing out the attic window deep in thought.

"Piper." The younger Halliwell turned to reveal a new set of tears streaming down her face.

"Oh honey.." guilt built up in Prue's heart as she tried to comfort her baby sister. "Please don't be angry with me."

"Angry with you?" Piper laughed bitterly, "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I hate you." Prue was taken aback by her sister's harsh confession.

"I hated you. how could you leave us Prue? Did you think I could handle being the oldest? Because I couldn't! It nearly killed me! Why didn't you fight it?"

"Baby, I did but there was nothing..."

"You should have tried harder! For me! For Phoebe! God! Do you have any idea what I've been through? Your life was a cake walk compared to the hell I've been through. And you weren't there. You were never there. Mom, Grams,.......even Cole!...they were there for me. But you never came back. Why didn't come back?"

"Because it was too fucking hard!" At this point Prue could barely speak through her sobs as she continued. "Don't you think it hurt me too Piper? I had to watch you and Phoebe suffer knowing that I couldn't do a damn thing about it! See Piper your wrong. I was there. I was there the whole time. When you found Paige, when you vanquished Cole,......when your sons were born. You couldn't see me but I was there." For a moment the only sound in the attic was the sniffling coming from the two sisters.

"I was going to name her Prue."

"What?"

"I was going to name my daughter Prue." Piper looked up into the face of her older sister. "After you." Prue didn't say anything but once again pulled her sister into her arms. In fact neither of them spoke another word that night. They simply held each other trying to make up for lost time.

The time that had been stolen from them.

**I was bummed by the fact that Prue never appeared again after her death. I know that there were real world factors involved (mostly the feud between Milano and Doherty) but COME ON! Do it for the fans!!!!!!!! I mean it didn't make sense that Prue never popped in for a visit (never ever!) considering that Mama Halliwell and Grams were guest stars several times. Seriously just grow up and DO YER JOB!!!!! I mean even in the final episode....NO PRUE! Hollywood drama is dumb. And now I'm done ranting to you (I'll just rant to myself for awhile) My head hurts from staring at the computer screen so long. And my legs hurt from soccer. I'm going to go take a nap. I'LL UPDATE AS SOON AS I CAN!!!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Do you want the bad news or the good news first? Well you're going to get the good news first because the bad news won't make sense without it. GOOD NEWS= new chapter! BAD NEWS= its kind of short.....It wasn't going to be this short originally but when I got to the final line that ends this chapter i was like "ooooooo that would be a good place to stop!" but don't worry more coming soon. (I don't own charmed!)**

**REVIEWS:**

**atlan2007: thank you once again for your continuing support !!!**

**lizardmomma: thanks for the review! **

**.: for some reason your name disappeared on the last chapter so i decided to thank you again!**

**HaVe Fun!**

"Thank you George." The girl gave her driver a small wave as she shut the passenger door and the old man smiled in return as he went to park the family car. When he had gone she rushed up the steps leading to the Victorian era mansion she called home.

"Mother I'm home." She called out excitedly as she removed her shoes but paused when the house remained silent.

"Mama?" It was very uncommon for her mother to not meet her after school but every so often she would find her giving a tour to some guests or working away in the garden. After she placed her school things in the nearby library the girl went in search of her mother. Due to the cloudy skies the many hallways and rooms of the mansion were covered in shadow. When she found the first floor empty except for the cooks she continued to the second floor. At the end of the main hallway a door stood slightly ajar allowing a dull light to think the darkness. the door led to her father's private study, a room that was off limits to everyone but his business partners. She began to approach it but paused when she heard voices. If she interrupted a meeting she would be in very serious trouble. Before she could decided what to do next a woman's blood curdling cry ripped through the entire house sending a chill down the young girl's spine.

Her fear told her to run but her curiosity told her to stay. Another scream echoed through the hallway but this time it was followed by an even more frightening sound.....laughter. The low and maniacal noise was countered by a man's frantic shouts and then......silence. The girl inched closer to the door trembling at the thought of what she might find beyond the door frame. When she reached the threshold her eye's were met with a hellish scene. Her mother's body lay in the middle of the room in a pool of red. Beside her body the girl's father was bent over in despair. His sobs were the only sound the girl could hear apart from the beating of her own heart which felt as though it had jumped to her throat.

"Da...daddy?" the man whipped around to face his daughter. He rushed forward in a vain attempt to shield the sight of his wife's ghastly corpse from his daughter who had burst into tears.

"Sssh honey. It's alright. Listen to daddy now. You need to get out of the house. Go find George and tell him to take you to your Aunt Rita's"

"But..."

"No buts now. Promise me you'll be a big girl."

"I ..I .p..promise daddy."

"That's my angel." The man pulled her into a tight hug an gave her a kiss before pushing her towards the door.

"Go on sweetie. I'll be right behind you." The girl nodded and took off at a sprint desperate to leave the gore far behind her but skidded to a halt when a man appeared out of thin air right in front of her. She had seen this man before. He was one of the business partners who often spent many hours locked up in the study discussing work with her father.

"Nooo!" in seconds her father was in front of her blocking the man from her view. "Stay away from my daughter."

"Filth like you doesn't deserve her."

"If you lay a hand on her I'll kill you."

"Not if I kill you first." In a flash of light the girl watched in horror as her father was thrown across the room. He only stopped when his body crashed into a large bookcase rendering him unconscious.

"Daddy!" the girl screamed as the other man approached. He was just about to grab her arm when a hand grasped her shoulder.

"I'll keep you safe." In a whirlwind of color her father's study disappeared and after that all she knew was darkness.

Melinda shot up in her bed knocking a bed side lamp off its table. Her heart was racing, her breathing erratic, and her clothes were damp from the cold sweat that covered her body. She threw off the covers and rested her head in her hands as she sat on the edge of the bed. _'It was just a dream.'_ She tried to shake the pictures from her head but failed to do so. _'The scream. The blood. The demon.'_ The three images spun around and around in her mind making her light headed. Upon checking the time she found that it was almost noon. She quickly dressed and checked her appearance in the mirror. Large dark circles had formed beneath her eyes. She shook her head to fend of the weariness and then went off to find the house's other occupants. Just as she suspected she found Piper and Prue hard at work in the attic.

"Good morning sleepyhead." the older sister grinned as Melinda wearily entered.

"Yeah sorry I must've been really tired."

"Don't worry you didn't miss anything."

"Except for breakfast." Piper looked up momentarily from the book as she spoke.

"Oh that's fine. I'm not that hungry." Her stomach let out a loud gurgle in protest.

"There's a plate you downstairs. You may want to warm it up a bit."

"Oh Piper thanks...."

"No problem." The two sisters watched her go, Prue with a look of concern on her face. She had never seen Melinda look so......ragged. The teen looked like she had just been through hell. She couldn't attribute this to anything considering things had been fairly quiet since their encounter with the demons at the church. She would have to talk to her later.

"Prue?" the witch was awakened from her daydream by her younger sister. "Something wrong?"

"Uh no. Just spacing out. Find anything?"

"Nope nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Not a..."

"I get the point."

"Sorry. What should we do?"

"Keep looking. There's got to be something in here that's useful."

Melinda popped the smorgasbord of breakfast food into the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. She was about to revisit her dream when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She went into the family room and peered out thee front window. A second later her eyes widened when she realized who was walking up the front stoop.

"Prue. Piper!" she ran to stairs and met the sisters at the bottom.

"Melinda what? What is it?"

"Phoebe."

"What!?" the Halliwells spoke in unison.

"Phoebe is here....NOW."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you really want to find out with your dead sister standing on the stairs with her half-witch half-demon pupil?"

"No." Piper began to panic. "Prue you need to get out of here and Melinda...." Piper stared at the girl for a moment. "you should leave too."

"To the attic?"

"To the attic!" Prue grabbed Melinda's hand and they rushed upstairs just as the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Piper paused a moment to calm herself and then opened the door. "Phoebe!"

"You don't look happy to see me. Is this a bad time?"

"What? No no no. I've missed you! How was your trip?" She hugged her sister as she walked in and the shut the door behind her.

"It was good. Long and exhausting but good." She talked as she gave a curious glance towards the kitchen.

"Cooking something?"

"Leftovers."

"Leftovers? Piper you don't do leftovers."

"Yeah well I decided to turn over a new-leaf. Stop wasting so much food."

"Have you been redecorating?"

"No...why?"

"Where's Grams' table?"

"Oh the table! Yes that we did move. We decided we needed more space."

"Uh-huh." It was blatantly obvious to Phoebe that Piper was hiding something. She had never been a good liar. Piper noticed her suspicion.

"Want some tea?"

"Sure."

Upstairs in the attic Prue and Melinda sat in complete silence occasionally giving each other a nervous look. If Phoebe found out about what Piper was up to two things could happen. First she could totally flip when she found out that Piper had gotten involved in the supernatural again and then never talk to her sister again in which case the were screwed. Or she could be furious at Piper for keeping it a secret and then never talk to her sister again in which they were still screwed. Melinda went through these scenarios over and over again trying to find a way out but was interrupted when a demon shimmered into the room. Prue's jaw dropped in disbelief as the demon poised to strike. Melinda jumped to her feet while simultaneously forming a energy ball in her hand. Like an assassin she snuck up behind him and drove it into his back covering his mouth to silence his scream. Prue and Melinda met each others gazes as two more demons appeared. With a nod they set to work.

Downstairs Phoebe sat herself down at the kitchen table as Piper started the kettle. She chewed on her nail as she thought how to approach the conversation that had prompted her visit. No matter what she knew Piper was going to be defensive about it. As she opened her mouth to speak she heard a large thud above her head.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"That noise?"

"Oh it was probably just the bats."

"Bats? In broad daylight?"

"Did I say bats. I meant rats. We really need to set some traps for those things." As soon as she finished her sentence a large crash shook the house.

"That wasn't a rat." Before Piper could stop her Phoebe had gotten to her feet and headed upstairs.

"Phoebe wait."

Melinda rolled over just in time to dodge another energy ball. Prue jumped on the remaining demon and drove an athame into its back. The two of them let out a sigh of relief but soon inhaled at the sound of approaching footsteps. Melinda looked at Prue and mouthed "go" as she struggled to her feet. Less than a nanosecond after Prue had vanished Phoebe walked into the attic followed by Piper.

"Piper I'm telling you.......oh hello." Phoebe stopped when she spotted Melinda.

"Hi." Melinda was trying to think of an explanation as to why she was there but couldn't so she looked to Piper for help.

"Um Phoebe this is Melinda. Melinda this is my sister Phoebe."

"Hi."

"Hi....Melinda?" Phoebe turned to Piper who's stomach churned at the sight of her younger sister's face.

"Melinda your food is done. Why don't you go ahead and eat while me and Phoebe talk." Glad to be excused Melinda rushed out of the room without a second thought. Once she was gone Phoebe whirled around and the tirade started.

"Piper are you nuts?!"

"You've been talking to Paige, haven't you?"

"Piper this is serious and yes. At first I thought she was crazy but now I don't"

"That's good."

"Now I think your crazy! Piper who's this girl and where did she come from?"

"Oh Phoebe come on. Its not that big of a deal."

"Big deal? A felony isn't a big deal? And why was Billie here?" Piper gulped. Her sisters were on track to expose her little undertaking and that wasn't a good thing.

"Billie was here to give Melinda company while I was at the club. I wasn't going to leave her all alone."

"Piper what's really going on here? This isn't you." Now Piper was getting irritated. In her opinion she was a grown woman and had the right to do what she pleased.

"Phoebe just let it be. I'll deal with it okay. Just worry about your own life."

"Piper you're part of my life."

"Not lately." With this last comment the 'real' issue was out in the open. Piper had always been close to her sisters but the relationship between her and Phoebe had always been the most intimate. Ever since the ultimate battle the ties between Piper and her sisters had been strained. They still got together occasionally but it just wasn't the same. She missed the unity that came from going up against a ruthless demon as the Charmed Ones.

"Where is this coming from?" Phoebe looked at her older sister in confusion.

"You know what it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Despite what you're feeling right now I still care about you but you seem to have forgotten that." Piper was speechless as Phoebe stormed passed her out of the attic. _'This is a disaster.'_ For the second time in less than a week she had pissed off a sister trying to hide her secret. She took in a breath to prevent any tears from falling.

"Prue she's gone." Piper quietly spoke as she took a seat on the couch. Prue appeared and a minute later Melinda joined them carrying a plate of food. The two watched Piper in silence waiting for her to collect her thoughts.

"I can't do this anymore." Melinda looked at Piper in panic afraid that she was about to get kicked out....again. "I have to tell them." Relieved that she wasn't getting the boot Melinda chimed in.

"I think that's a good idea considering we don't have Billie anymore."

"I think we're going to need all the help we can get." Melinda slouched in disappointment. She hadn't gotten along with Billie even before she revealed her secret and she didn't think their relationship would improve anytime soon.

"Okay Piper why don't you go call Billie while Melinda and I go through the book."

"Prue we've been through it a million times and our demon isn't in there."

"Yes but the Collectors are."

"Excuse me?"

"Those demons that just attacked were collectors"

"You mean like the brain zapping kind?"

"Yep."

"Who were they after?" Melinda looked up from the food poking with her fork. Prue answered.

"Me."

**Snap. You remeber those guys from season 2 right? Yes they're back with avengance! The next chapter should be up by the weekend! R&R ha i figured out what that meanS!!!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**What's this? Are your eyes deceiving you? No they are not. This is really a new chapter no joke! And before you dive into all the Charmed goodness I would like to apologize for my two month absence. You see, as a second semester senior I had a lot of loose ends to tie up before becoming free from high school forever. These include but are not limited to: final year of soccer, senior prom, four AP exams, senior finals, baccalaureate mass, graduating, graduation parties, writing thank yous, and saying goodbye to one of your best friends who is heading off to basic training for the next four months and who you won't be able to see until September and by that time you'll be at college in a different city an hour away. But i digress. I should be writing more frequently from now on so enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed of its characters.**

Two weeks, three days, twenty hours, thirty-three minutes and fifty-two seconds. That's how long Prue had been gone. Melinda stared down at her cereal which was becoming soggier with each passing tick of the clock. She wasn't hungry. She hadn't seen or heard from her guardian since the night the Collectors had attacked. After the demonic encounter Prue had revealed that she was their target but before Melinda received any further explanation Prue had gone and after two weeks, three days, twenty hours, thirty-three minutes and fifty-two seconds she had yet to return. Melinda wasn't worried about Prue, _'She's already dead. What's the worst that could happen?'_ She was more worried about the finer details surrounding her absence. If the Elders had kept her away this long than Pure knew something important and she hadn't shared that something with Melinda. This had the teen thoroughly frustrated. Even though the entire dilemma at hand somehow centered on her she was still being left in the dark.

What was worse was that in her absence no progress had been made regarding their current situation. They still had no idea who they were supposed to be fighting and as a result morale was low. Piper's relationship with her sister's wasn't any better. She had spoken to Paige only a few times by phone and she hadn't talked to Phoebe at all. Billie had made her reluctant return only out of her ties to Piper. She sent hints of malice at Melinda whenever possible.

"Melinda." The half-demon snapped out of her daydream as Piper walked in carrying Chris. "Oh there you are. Not hungry?" Melinda shook her head in a silent reply.

"Well Billie's on her way over but I have to run into P3. Jerry said he can't find the new batch of drinks." Piper said all this in one breath as she cleaned up the kitchen while Chris sat in his high chair. "Will you be okay watching the boys until Billie gets here?" At any other time Melinda would have protested being left alone with Billie but she just didn't have the energy this morning. It's not that she didn't like Billie......okay it was because she didn't like Billie but Billie hated her first.

"Yeah." Piper glanced over her shoulder at the weary teen who was obviously discouraged. She abandoned her scrubbing and sat down beside Melinda. "Are you okay?" Melinda looked away in an effort to hide her distress.

"I'm fine."

"Melinda."

"Okay I'm not fine." She whipped her head around and let the emotions flow. "How can I be? Prue hasn't come back. We know nothing. We can't do anything and for all we know the demons are about to unleash hell upon the earth and it's all my fault. It's my fault your sisters hate you and..."

"That has nothing to do with you. I'm the one who's been keeping secrets from them."

"You've been keeping secrets about me from them." Piper shook her head in reassurance but didn't say anything. "Where is she Piper?"

"I don't know but she'll be back. She wouldn't just abandon us." Melinda wasn't so sure. Somewhere deep down inside a feeling of dread was growing. Piper gave her one last smile before gathering up her things and heading out the door. Melinda walked out and placed Chris in the conservatory where Wyatt was playing. She watched the two boys and wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. No, she wondered what it would be like to have any family at all. As far back as she could remember she had been alone. In fact until the day she met Prue she just wandered around aimlessly looking for a purpose. Part of her longed for that nomadic life where she didn't have the fate of the world in her hands but at least now she had a place to call home, sort of.

Billie hopped off the the bus and started down the remaining blocks between her and the Manor. She wasn't in a rush. She wasn't even sure why she bothered. It's not like they had accomplished anything since Piper had convinced her to come back. It was pointless, worthless, futile. Even if they managed to figure out what they were supposed to be doing its not like a teenage witch, a half-demon, and one-third of the Charmed triangle could do anything about it. The only thing that brought her here was her loyalty to Piper. The Halliwells were the closet thing to a family she had and she wasn't about to lose them too. She jogged up the stairs leading to the Manor and entered without knocking.

"Piper! I'm here."

"She's gone" Billie cringed. She turned and saw Melinda sitting on a chair in the living room. The two stared at each other. While Billie's eyes were filled with hatred, Melinda's held no emotion. "She went to P3 but she should be back soon."

"Oh." Billie didn't try to hide her disapproval of Melinda and Melinda didn't try to hide her indifference.

"Billie!" Wyatt smiled as the familiar face bent down to greet him.

"Hi Wyatt. Are we going to have fun today?"

"Yes!"

"But no magic okay? Your mommy told me what happened last time." She shot a scornful look in Melinda's direction. She was referencing an incident that had occurred that last time Melinda had babysat the boys.

"Well at least I didn't have to strip his powers in order to control him." Melinda smiled in satisfaction as she watched Billie react. Billie had to use every ounce of self-control to restrain her retaliation. She had promised Piper that she would be nice to Melinda. She was going to do her best to keep that promise but she wasn't going to just lay down and take it either.

Piper buried her head in her hands. "This is ridiculous!" Her days off were supposed to be relaxing. She hadn't planned on spending more than a few minutes at the club but she soon found herself trying to fix multiple problems that had thrown the establishment into complete and utter chaos. She had located the missing drinks but realized that she was missing others. To make matters worse three employees had called in sick and another had just not shown up.

"Hey Piper."

"Jerry?"

"Where are the new glasses?"

"Try the storage room Jerry." Piper sighed. Jerry was a great guy but some days he acted completely clueless. This was one of those days.

"Piper."

"What is it now!?!" She threw her hands up in frustration but froze when she realized who was standing in front of her. "Prue?"

"Hey."

"Where the hell have you been!?!" Piper spoke in a hushed tone not wanting Jerry to hear."

"Not now.....we have a problem."

Billie and Melinda sat in silence waiting for Piper's delayed return. Billie had taken up reading a magazine she found on the coffee table. Melinda just sat there and stared at nothing. After a half-hour of agony Billie's curiosity got the best of her.

"How old are you?"

"Huh?" Melinda looked up in confusion.

"How old are you, really?"

"56" Billie whistled pretending to be impressed. "Why did you even bother asking?"

"Well you told me you were seventeen but that was before I knew that you were a demon."

"Half-demon" Melinda's face showed signs of anger as her cheeks turned red.

"Whatever. That's before I knew you were half-demon so I figured it was a lit too."

"I didn't have a choice." Melinda shouted as she jumped to her feet. Her fists were clenched at her sides.

"You chose to lie."

"If I hadn't kept it a secret I wouldn't have gotten through the front door."

"Exactly, so you intentionally deceived Piper into thinking you were a witch."

"With good intention"

"Two wrongs don't make a right."

"Shut up. You don't know the first thing about me. Stop comparing me to what I'm not."

"A demon?"

"A monster."

"Well we've known plenty of those."

"I'm different."

"Why? Because you're half – demon? That's not a very good argument. Phoebe married one and he turned out to be the Source of All Evil.

"Wha…?" Melinda paused when Piper burst through the front door followed by....

"Prue!!" Melinda's elation was cut short by Piper.

"Attic now." Melinda shot a look at Prue and her heart sank. They knew something and it wasn't good. Once all four of them had gathered upstairs Prue began.

"First I'm sorry that I was gone so long but the Elders didn't want to risk the collector's getting inside my head and they had a new lead that they wanted to follow up on. Now for the bad news." She crossed her arms in the typical Prue fashion and sat down on the arm of the couch that Piper was sitting in.

"We have a time line."

"What do you mean?" Prue met Melinda's confused stare.

"Well thanks to a very reliable source we were able to determine the day by which the heir must assume their position as the Source."

"How much time do we have?" Melinda was almost too afraid to hear the answer. Piper remained silent beside her older sister.

"A week"

"What?!?!" Melinda's eyes bulged in astonishment. She figured they didn't have much time left but she hadn't expected to have only seven days.

"Are you serious?" Billie spoke for the first time. They had felt the pressure of crunch time but nothing like this.

"It gets worse. Tell them Prue." Piper stammered in a small voice. Prue paused for a moment.

"I....I'm.." she struggled to find her voice.

"You're leaving aren't you?" Prue froze. Melinda's eyes had pierced through to her very soul and found the darkness that had been wearing her down for almost two weeks. "You're leaving." When Prue didn't deny it Billie voiced her disapproval.

"You've got to be joking!" Prue remained silent. "No you can't. You can't leave. We have no fucking clue what we're doing." Her pleas became more frantic as the reality of their situation set in. "You CAN'T. If we try to fight....whatever the hell we're supposed to be fighting we're going to........it was a long shot with you and without you we're dead."

"Billie there's nothing I can do."

"You could stay."

"I can't." Prue was on the verge of tears. "You think I want to leave you here to die."

"Oh did "they" tell you that too Prue? That we're screwed?"

"That's not what I meant I...."

"Go." Prue turned towards the girl whom she had been ordered to protect. "Just go Prue."

"Melinda..."

"You're not helping us by staying here." Melinda's word hurt but Prue knew she was right. Her lips quivered as she shot once last look at all of them and then turned to her sister. "Piper just promise me you won't give up."

"I can't promising anything Prue." Piper gave her a sympathetic look. Prue gave a small nod an with that she was gone.

_Gone for good._

**Well there you are! I'll admit I was a little rusty after my two month hiatus but I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. Next one will be up soon!**


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